Unprepared
by Angel of Neptune
Summary: Will you be prepared, Regina, for the time when your own child abandons you?


**Title**: Unprepared

**Author:** AoN

**Word Count:** 850

**Genre:** Drama/Angst

**Rating:** PG

**Characters: **Cora, Regina, mentions of Henry and Emma

**Feedback:** Please and thank you!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own ABC's "Once Upon a Time."

**Summary:** Will you be prepared, Regina, for the time when your own child abandons you?

Does it pain you, Regina? Is it as antagonizing as you thought it would be? Upsetting, even?

To have your own child glare at you with such disdain and resentment in his eyes, with such unsettling hatred, one that you cannot fully understand. You long and ache for the affection and adoration that you once knew to return in his once sweet and innocent gaze, especially when all you have done is given him the best opportunity to succeed, to go beyond his wildest dreams, and to show him that he is capable of being so much more than what he could ever imagine.

He's pulled away from you, regardless, hasn't he, Regina? He doesn't realize that he is quite lucky to have a mother such as yourself, a mother who looks out for him as you do. After all, you love him so much, more than anything in this cursed world of yours, but he's still not allowing you into his. Not anymore.

And that's what hurts you. You've always done what was best for him, haven't you? Sacrificed your own well-being for the sake of his. Always placed him first in your life, even before yourself. Provided him with a safe and peaceful environment to call home, with food to eat, and with the finest of clothing to wear. Enrolled him in only the best classes, in piano lessons, and in sports – everything that would make him such a well-rounded person, a decent member of society.

Oh, you most certainly have, my dear, done what's best for him, but, nevertheless, he still isn't happy, not with you. And you'd do anything to make him happy, wouldn't you? After all, is that what you consider to be the best for him? His happiness?

Doing what's best for your child, even though your child may not realize that you have his best interest at… heart – that is what it means to be a parent. A guardian. A mother - a role that has been yours for the last ten years of his life, a role that is being threatened by that other woman.

And what was it again you told that other woman, who he holds on such a high pedestal, so much further above your own - the other woman who intruded into your life, the life you shared with your son? Oh, yes. You told her that you've changed ever diaper, soothed every fever, and endured every tantrum, but does any of that truly matter? Does it, dear?

The answer to that question, Regina, you know very well, even if you do not wish to acknowledge it. And how can you? You've seen the way he looks at her, his eyes beaming with the warmth and the fondness that were once yours - and only yours. She's taking your place.

You recall vividly his words, the ones he spat at you upon his return from his little adventure, the one that caused you nothing but panic, worry, and to tremble in fear. Those words, they tore through you like a sharp blade, didn't they? He had ignored your tears, the relief in your shaking voice as you embraced him tightly. He said those words that have continued to haunt you ever since.

He found his real mother.

That woman.

She's ripped apart everything you've worked so hard for, hasn't she, Regina? She's taking away your son – you feel it, you feel him slipping away, further and further away from you. He used to share everything with you, but not anymore. No, now he's sharing everything with her. Stories and secrets, but all you'll ever hear are lies and dishonesties.

You're losing him, Regina. You're trying oh-so desperately to show him how you feel, that everything you've ever done for him was for his own benefit, that they were all attempts to try to help him. That everything you've ever done was out of your undying love for him.

Yet, he continues to push you away. He's blind to that love you have for him. He continues to lash out at you. He sees you for what you really are. There's no use hiding it anymore, dear. He will retaliate against you, Regina, and what if you are not able to withstand it any further?

Do you think, even for a moment, that you will be able to look at him, his eyes full of more vengeance than you'll ever know and with so much more hatred than what he glares at you now? Do you think that he, as he stands over you with a devious smirk, will listen to your pleas?

Will you be prepared to realize that your own child has forsaken you? Has abandoned you, regardless of what you've done for him?

Because, Regina, I wasn't.

And you, my dear, most certainly, won't be.

_**End**_


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